Centripetal-centrifugal pump and condenser.



PATBNTEDMAR. 5, 1907.

Not 845,816.

l R. s. PRINDLB. GENTRIPBTAL CENTRIFUG'A'LPUMP -AND GONDBNSER.

APPLICATION FILED IAR. 5. 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTBD MAR. 5, V1907.

R. s. PRINDLE. GBNTRIPETAL GENTRIFUGAL PUMP AND GONDENSER.

APPLIUATION- FILED MABH. 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" 'U'Nirun STATES .PATENT OFFVICE Rosoon s.l PRINDLE, or NEW YORK, NQ Y., ASsIeNoR or ONE-HALF To CHARLES H. TOMPKINS' AND VINCENT o. froMrKINS, oF NEW t YORK, N.. if.,V y

cENTmPETAL-,oENrmFuC-)ALPUMP NDcoNDENsEB.

Speci-cation of Letters Patent.

Infateuted March 5, 1907.

Applicants ala March 5,1902. serial No. 96,826.

To all zia/1,0m it Imay concern: Be it known that I, RosooE S. PRINDLE, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York; have invented certain newand useful Improvements-in Centripetal-Centriffugal Pum s and Condensers; and I do hereby declare t e following to be a full, clear, and exact descri v tion of the invention, such as will enab e to make and use the same.'

- My invention relates to 'improvements in centripetal and centrifugal .pumpscombined with condensers; and the ob] ect 'of my invention is to' reduce a device of this character which willpfirst draw thev liquid actedon by others skilled in the art to which it appertains the power toward the center and then dis-- charge it from. the center, which may be run ,by a" belt or steam-turbine or 'any other desired motive power andwhich may also be used as a condenser for other engines, as'a vacuum-pump, an air-pump, and for otherv purposes. y. j ".'1

With these objects in view my invention consists in the construction and combinationA i of parts ashereinafter described and claimed'.

n the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is afcross-setionof my im roved pump, show ing it driven directly llsy 'a steam-turbine'. Fig. 2 is a detailY viewof the means for adjusting' the rassure-ring' shown in -Fign 42j Fig. 3 is a-si e elevation of the runner shown.

The yrunner itself, 5,is supported while at restl upf-lm the short hollow shafts 6 and 7; but" w fle in motion it .is supported 'upon the water bearings and by ymeans hereinafter d escribed.

The hollow shafts 6 and 7 terminate in enlargements 8 and 9 at'their inner ends, and

the perforations therein at theend are turned upwardly, as shown in 10 and 1.1, for the urpose of discharging a current of water'u mto the. bearings and lifting the runner o the ypurpose of priming the pum sideof the casing.

which act centri shafts and 7 and supporting it upon liquid f i I i bearings. The shafts 6 and 7 pass through extensions in the casing and through bearings 12 and 13 into boxes 14 and 15, which have removable heads 16 and 17 screwed thereto by bolts 18. The shafts are held in position by nuts 19 and20, secured in position by bolts 21 and 22. The outerend of each shaft is squared to receive the end of a wrench, Wherebyit maybe turned into any desired position. valves 25 and 26, deliver the liquid into the boxes 14 and 15, being preferably connected .with thedischargechamber ofthe pum 'l This discharge-chamber 27 is arranged in t e PipesA 23 and 24, provided with Y form of a volute, as common in centrifugal pumps,(preferably largest at the bottom, and 1s provl the pump and ordinarily e osed by a pipe .with the ej ector-tting in common use for the lThe` runner 5` s provide 'runner is also provided With .projections 30 and 31,'in which are cut outspherical portions 32 and 33 for'the reception of the ends of the hollow shafts. said shaft in'said runner when the. machine ed with a passage 28 used in priming with a central l vane 29 in the form'of a circular con.l The Nuts 34 and 35 secure is assembled. Substantiallyparallel to the central vane 29 are the wings-'36v and 37, and

and position lof said arms be' varied to suit the varying requirements.

the.'centeof 'the pump centi'ipetally, while .the armsbetWeenL-,the wings 36 and 37 vand stant .flow orfee of water to the centrifugal arms, thereby renderingifpnssible` to run. the centrifugal pump ata-very high 'speed and obviating the-necessity' of having a separate pump to feed thehigh-speed centrifugal' `curved arms, like the arms 'y `in.Fig. 3, connectsaid vane and-Wings,the number, shape','.

nthe exte'nl l vsions 30'and 31V are mounted sets of arms 38. `and 39,'curved ,inl the op ositedirection. flhes'e. arms actto draw .the `quid in toward Q LCG pumpfas is now a common practice. lIt

must be understood,lhowever, that a single 'centrifugal vpump may be designed that. it will not a separate-pump to feed it, even While running at high speeds; but such a pump has very serious objections from a practical point of view, because it necessit'ates the building of a very large machine, and especially tne provision of exceedingly large inlet-pipes and exceedingly small outlet-passages in the runner, thereby enormouslyi'ncreasing the liquid friction aiidbeing therefore very difliciilt to balance and exceedinglywasteful ol power.

Circular guide-plates 79 80 are let into the easing in proximity to the arms 38 39, but without touching said arms or any part of the runner. These plates serve to guide the liquid in toward the center of the runner and prevent it from working up between the runner and casing to condense the steam before' it strikes the inipeller-'blades 40' and 41.

1n lfig. 1 the runner is driven by a steamturbine. On extensions on the wings 36 and 37 areniounted rings of impeller-blades 40 and 41, one ring on each side to preserve a perfect balance. Secured in extensions on the easing or carried thereby in any suitable way are rings of diverting-blades 42 vand 48 and pipes 44 and 45, delivering steam thereto,thus causing the runner to revolve. Alter passing through the iinpeller-blades the steam enters the spaces 46 and 47 between the wings 36 and 37 and the casing, which chambers communicate, by means of passages 48 and 49, with the discharge-passage 27.

The liquid passing out into the passage 27 by the wings 36 and 37 draws with it the steam through the passages 48 and 49 and condenses it by the constantl stream of Water which exists in the discharge-passage 27. lt also draws along with it any air that there may be in the beginning within the casing and any airthat may. enter the casing by leakage or from being entrained with the steam.

l have shown on each side of the central vane 29 only one ring of impeller-bladesand one ring of diverter blades or vanes; but it is obvious'that I may compound these to any extent, the diverter-blades` being of course fixed to the casing and the iin eller-blades being iixed to the runner, where )y I ani enabled to take advantage of the principles of impact, reaction, or expansion, or any combination thereof in driving the runner.

The runner is supported in water bearings, so as to run practically without friction. n

fact, all friction is avoided except the mere central vaneI 29, which projects into the discharge-passage 27, automatically acts to cenvter the runner, or rather to l"prevent it from runner is in rotation, thereby keeping its plane of rotation practically constant independent of its plane of gravity, if on account of variations .in the "material, for example, these two planes do not exactly coincide. ln Aaddition 1 have shown in Fig. 1 a means l'oi centering the runnerrwheel in rotation independent of the hollow shafts 6 and 7. lliis means consists of a ring 50, provided with two slightly-concaved inner faces 51 and 52, terminating in a sharp edge 53 in proximity to the edge of the central vane 29. This ring is eccentrically mounted in relation to the runner 5, or rather the central vane thereof, 29, andis supported on rods 54, passing through screw-tlireaded nuts 81 and openings in the casing, and provided with liand-Wheels 55. Any number of these rods may be used, andtheyniay b e usedin any desired position. I prefer, however, to use at least three, two

of these being located below the center ol the j the stream discharged by the runner, where c by the downward pressure caused by the weight of the runner will be eounteracted and whereby the thrust caused by the rotation ol" the runner will also be compensated for. lt should be noted that when this adjustment has been once made it need not be varied, evenvif'tlie speed of revolution of the runner varies-widely, the result being that the runner after the adjustment has once been'ni'ade automatically balances itself during rotation. Instead of this ring adjustably mounted eccentrically tothe central vane 29 1 may ol'l course use a fixed ring concentrically with said vane, which ring is rovided with iiiovable pivoted vanes near y balanced and ai'- ranged to be adjusted back and forth either by contact with the runner or externally through the case by means of rods and handwlieels. Moreover, tlie-riiig 50 instead of being made separate frein the central vane 29 may be made integral therewith. rlhe result of this construction is that any variation from the proper position of' rotation would be automatically corrected. For example, il' therunner should tendto settle, owing to a diminutionin speed', for instance, the resultant pressure would be increased at the to i and diminished at the bottoni, producing va ifting eil'cct which will eounterbalance the 'settling tendency, this lifting ellect being caused by the columns of liquid discharged against the inner periphery of the ring, the pressure being greatest where the clearance for the discharge columns of liquid is the smallest.

The .pump may be priinedfin the-usual manner by means of a steam-ejector atico IIO

' 6o which acts as a discharge-chamber, said cas- 'ing'h-aving aninlet-openingfor gas andliquid, and a rotor or runner in said casing acting tol vforce said gas and liquidinto said extension, f

4cerisier vtached tothe top ofthe discharge-passage 3' or to the outer part' of the inclosing casing -71,.whichreceives the exhaust-steam.

Variations in the amount of the exhauststeam caused by variations in the load under which the main 'engine works may be compensated for in the well-known ways of throttlingv the amount of water circulating lthrough thel ump or by reducing or increasing the spee of the pump itself. `The important feature of this means for condensing which I have described isthat the ysteam is l brought into contact with a rotating mass of water, whereby this rotating stream will ab- Sorb more heat units than if it were at restoi discharged in the usual type of jet o r surface condenser, 'therefore requiring a less amount of water to effect the condensation and doing away with the air-pump and the large amount of pipingnow required in con-` densers of the usual type. My apparatus can also be used as an air-compressor or positive blower or fan, and when used as an alrcompressor or pressure-blower the compression takes place adiabatically,` the heat due to compression being eontinuouslyremoved by the ilowing stream of water and being separated from the air.in the usual manner by being discharged into a tank and settling to the bottom thereof, therebycarrying with it the heat due tocompression. This heat is 'permitted to escape by radiation, or in some instances a renewed supply of vcold water is introduced to take it up. The eXtra casing shown in Fig. 4 may also be applied to the modification shown in Fig. '1 or to any similar type of machine wherein the condensingpgrts are swept by a moving liquid.

'le I have thus'described my invention,

I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do not limit myself to the exact details shown and described, for-it will be obvious` to anyy one sln'lled in the-arts of hydraulics and steam-engineering that many variations might be made without departing from the spirit/of my invention. 1 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, isf

1.; The combinationK of a casing having an extension vvthereon acting as a dischargechamber, said casing having an inlet-openingv for gas and liquid, and a rotor or runner in said casing, acting to force said gas or liquid,

into said extenslon, said rotor beingprovided with means for drawing in uid centri etally and discharging it centrifugally, su stantially as described.

2.` The combination of a casing having an extension thereon in the form of a volute said vrotor being provided with means lfor drawing lin fluid' centripetally and discharg- `i ing it centrifugally, Substantially las described.

3.' The combination of a casing havin a volute extension thereon actin as a ischarge-chamber, said casing having an inletopening for gas and liquid, a Huid-supported rotor or runner in said casin acting to force said gas and liquid into sai extension, and

`means for driving said rotor, substantially as 4described.-

4.l T hefcombination of a casing havingY a 4volute extension thereon acting as a discharge-chamber, said casing having an inletopenlng for gas and liquid, a duid-supported rotor or `runner in `said casing acting to force said gasjiand liquid into said extension, said rotoribing provided with means for drawing in .,ld centripetally and discharging' it, centrifugally, an means for driving sald rotor,

substantially as'described.

5. The'combination of a casing having a *volute 'extension thereon actingl as 'a dis- 'runner being provided with means for drawing in iiuid centripetally and discharging it centrifugally and said casing belng provided with inlets for liquid and gas, substantially as described.l

7. The combination of a casing provided with an extensin acting as a dischargechamber, and a combined rotor or runner and turbine-wheel therein, said rotor being provided with means for drawing in fluid centri-petally and discharging it centrifugaily and said casing being provided with two sets of openings', one for gas and the other for liquid, substantially as described.

8. The vcombination of a stationary casing provided .with a volute extension acting as a discharge-chamber, a revoluble combined runner or rotor and turbine-Wheel in said casing,saidA rotor bein provided with means .for drawing in ilui centripetally and discharging it centrifugally,'said.casing being IIC provlded with two sets of openings, one for gas and the other for liquid, and means for automatically balancing said rotor and talring its weight ofl" from its supports when 1n operation, substantially as described. A

9. The combination' of a casing provided with a volute extension, a combined rotor and turbine-wheel insaid casing, fluid supporting-bearings on which said rotor is mounted, and means for automatically balancing said combined rotor and turbine When in operation, substantially as described.

1.0. The combination of a casing having steam-inlets anda volute extension serving as a discharge-chamber, a combined rotor` and turbine-wheel supported in said casing, bearings for supporting said rotor and Wheel when at rest, means for forcing fluid in through said bearings during the operation, and an adjustable ring centrally surrounding said combined rotor and turbine-Wheel, whereby the latter is automatically balanced when in operation, substantially as described. l11. The combination of a casing having inlets for liquid and 0'as and a volute eXtension acting as a discharge-chamber, a combined rotor and turbine-Wheel located insaid casing and having recessed portions and a thin central edge, an adjustable ring surrounding said edge, and perforated bearings having spherical ends, said ends entering Vinto the recesses in said combined rotor and lute extension acting as a discharge-chamber, a combined rotor and turbine-Wheel located in said casing and provided withspherical-shaped cavities on opposite sides and 3o l with vanes for the liquid and the gas to impinge against, an adjustable circular ring centrally surrounding said rotor and Whee and perforated bearin s having spherical ends, Which ends enter mto the spherical re cesses in said combined rotor and Wheel, substantially as described. i In testimony whereofl aHX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROSCOE S. PR INDLE.

Witnesses CLARENCE A. BATEMAN, GUsTAvE R. THOMPSON. 

